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<blockquote data-quote="Grayson" data-source="post: 5627" data-attributes="member: 18"><p><strong>Religion</strong></p><p></p><p>Nice post Starlord. I add this to the mix though, just to keep you on your toes.</p><p></p><p><strong>Prehistoric Benefits of Religion</strong></p><p></p><p>A survival benefit accrued to prehistoric man with regard to the deification of those aspects of nature that he considered beyond his control, the Supernatural. Without such survival benefits, the inherently irrational belief in gods and a life after death could not have permanently imbedded itself in the human brain and genes.</p><p></p><p>As man found it advantageous to organize himself into small groups or tribes, a genetically imbedded religious belief system enhanced the advantages of communal living.</p><p></p><p>In primitive societies, definite survival benefits connect to the belief in the supernatural. Humans, who had a god or a group of gods whom they feared and were willing to obey, acted with a high degree of cooperation. Fear of punishment from their god or his priests would be a powerful force for socialized behavior.</p><p></p><p>Under these conditions, individuals subordinated their urges and passions to the commands of their gods. This coordination of activities resulted in civilized behavior and a distinct benefit for survival.</p><p></p><p>The commands of the gods, as communicated by their priests, worked to the advantage of a particular civilization and its individuals. Groups of people, held together by the glue of a religion, would thrive and enjoy the increased efficiency and production resulting from increased cooperation. </p><p></p><p>Since a pre-packaged moral code is associated with all organized religions, a belief in the supernatural would also lower crime within a society. The priests or witch doctors established a moral code of conduct. The alleged supernatural powers of the gods enforced this morality system. A fear of all-powerful gods deterred people from engaging in hostile or destructive acts against other members of their society. The resulting low-crime environment represented another very distinct survival benefit in a primitive, god-fearing society.</p><p></p><p>This consolidation of a society around mutually accepted beliefs also served to reinforce its resistance to external threats, such as attacks from other tribes. By merging his resources under the promised umbrella of a Supreme Being, early man enhanced his chances of surviving an attack by other societies. </p><p></p><p>The concept of security is an extremely cogent motivator for human beings. In importance, only the survival instinct and the sex drive surpass the quest for security. The need for security is merely a projection of the survival instinct into the future.</p><p></p><p>It is a well-established psychological fact that people who think alike, meet alike: Baptists congregate with Baptists and Jews congregate with Jews. By coordinating their individual activities with other persons who shared common religious beliefs, this coalescence of spiritual motivations provided for the security and survival of the members of a religious group.</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, societies that had no gods and thus did not cooperate with each other as well as their god-fearing neighbors did, were disadvantaged with respect to survival. Such atheistic societies would either not come into existence at all or they would not be able to compete efficiently with their devoutly religious neighbors. These early atheistic societies would eventually fail to survive, enhancing the evolutionary propagation and predominance of those genes that compelled adherence to supernatural belief systems.</p><p></p><p>Thus, a distinct survival benefit imbedded itself into prehistoric societies that engaged in the worship of gods or other supernatural beings.</p><p></p><p>During the prehistoric development of man, he could rely only on his physical prowess and very primitive tools. Many millennia of environmental hardships enhanced evolutionary pressures and honed the thought processes of man. He learned to rely on the power of his brain to an ever-increasing degree. Increased brainpower demonstrated the trend of evolution to increase complexity because increased complexity provides for a higher degree of specialization. </p><p></p><p>Advanced specialization provides for improved adaptability to changing environmental conditions. The development of life from a simple amoeba to the complex brain of modern man demonstrates the relentless evolutionary trend towards higher adaptability by ever-increasing complexity and specialization.</p><p></p><p>PART III coming to a thread near you--------------------</p><p>A wrok in progress: Grayson------------------------------</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Grayson, post: 5627, member: 18"] [b]Religion[/b] Nice post Starlord. I add this to the mix though, just to keep you on your toes. [b]Prehistoric Benefits of Religion[/b] A survival benefit accrued to prehistoric man with regard to the deification of those aspects of nature that he considered beyond his control, the Supernatural. Without such survival benefits, the inherently irrational belief in gods and a life after death could not have permanently imbedded itself in the human brain and genes. As man found it advantageous to organize himself into small groups or tribes, a genetically imbedded religious belief system enhanced the advantages of communal living. In primitive societies, definite survival benefits connect to the belief in the supernatural. Humans, who had a god or a group of gods whom they feared and were willing to obey, acted with a high degree of cooperation. Fear of punishment from their god or his priests would be a powerful force for socialized behavior. Under these conditions, individuals subordinated their urges and passions to the commands of their gods. This coordination of activities resulted in civilized behavior and a distinct benefit for survival. The commands of the gods, as communicated by their priests, worked to the advantage of a particular civilization and its individuals. Groups of people, held together by the glue of a religion, would thrive and enjoy the increased efficiency and production resulting from increased cooperation. Since a pre-packaged moral code is associated with all organized religions, a belief in the supernatural would also lower crime within a society. The priests or witch doctors established a moral code of conduct. The alleged supernatural powers of the gods enforced this morality system. A fear of all-powerful gods deterred people from engaging in hostile or destructive acts against other members of their society. The resulting low-crime environment represented another very distinct survival benefit in a primitive, god-fearing society. This consolidation of a society around mutually accepted beliefs also served to reinforce its resistance to external threats, such as attacks from other tribes. By merging his resources under the promised umbrella of a Supreme Being, early man enhanced his chances of surviving an attack by other societies. The concept of security is an extremely cogent motivator for human beings. In importance, only the survival instinct and the sex drive surpass the quest for security. The need for security is merely a projection of the survival instinct into the future. It is a well-established psychological fact that people who think alike, meet alike: Baptists congregate with Baptists and Jews congregate with Jews. By coordinating their individual activities with other persons who shared common religious beliefs, this coalescence of spiritual motivations provided for the security and survival of the members of a religious group. On the other hand, societies that had no gods and thus did not cooperate with each other as well as their god-fearing neighbors did, were disadvantaged with respect to survival. Such atheistic societies would either not come into existence at all or they would not be able to compete efficiently with their devoutly religious neighbors. These early atheistic societies would eventually fail to survive, enhancing the evolutionary propagation and predominance of those genes that compelled adherence to supernatural belief systems. Thus, a distinct survival benefit imbedded itself into prehistoric societies that engaged in the worship of gods or other supernatural beings. During the prehistoric development of man, he could rely only on his physical prowess and very primitive tools. Many millennia of environmental hardships enhanced evolutionary pressures and honed the thought processes of man. He learned to rely on the power of his brain to an ever-increasing degree. Increased brainpower demonstrated the trend of evolution to increase complexity because increased complexity provides for a higher degree of specialization. Advanced specialization provides for improved adaptability to changing environmental conditions. The development of life from a simple amoeba to the complex brain of modern man demonstrates the relentless evolutionary trend towards higher adaptability by ever-increasing complexity and specialization. PART III coming to a thread near you-------------------- A wrok in progress: Grayson------------------------------ [/QUOTE]
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